Trigger warning: In middle of chapter, there is gore.

When Anti raced downstairs, he couldn't believe it.

Flesh and bone, there they were!

"G-guys?"

Of course they looked at him like he was crazy.

"What is it, bro?" Chase asked him, "We weren't gone that long. Didn't you see the note?"

"N-note?" He didn't understand.

Jameson left to the kitchen and came back with a piece of paper, 'It was on the fridge. How didn't you see it?'

Anti took it from him.

Sure enough it said they'd be gone . . . but for a WEEK!

"B-but you guys were gone for . . . for THREE M̴O̷N̸T̶H̸S̷!̵"̴

Chase blinked, "Three months? Bro, no . . . it was just a week. You feeling okay?"

Anti flinched, "Shut up! Stop! No! N-no . . . I th-thought you all . . .. l-left me"

They all seemed surprised with Anti's words but didn't respond.

Anti twitched a little, "You left me! It's been MONTHS! L̴I̴A̷R̴S̴!̶ ̷Y̷O̷U̷ ̸L̵I̴E̴D̸!̸ ̸F̶O̴O̶K̴I̵N̸G̶ ̵L̵I̴A̷R̸S̷!̸ ̶Y̸O̵U̸ ̸L̶E̸F̸T̵ ̸M̵E̶!̶ ̶Y̷O̸U̷ ̶L̵E̵F̷T̴ ̶M̶E̴!̶"̵

Marvin came up to try and settle him down, "Look, we're sorry! I guess . . . well maybe time went differently here then outside Sean's head. . . We really thought it was only a week, Anti"

"There's never been a time change before" he mumbled.

Henrik shrugged, "Vell maybe Sean didn't realize what he had done. Ve were all pretty busy"

"B-busy . . ." it was all kind of hard to believe but at the moment, Anti was willing to go along with it, "O-okay"

"Three months, huh?" Jackie chuckled, "Must have sucked"

"It was . . . . so quiet" Anti's throat started to bleed and he didn't even notice Henrik dabbing at it with a small cloth, "So quiet and . . . ."

He wanted to throw all his feelings out at once. Seeing them all back and in front of him stirred up so much. He wanted to cry.

But for them it was only a week and they thought he saw the note?

He had to act strong. He couldn't show weakness to them. He didn't want them to poke fun at him for 'over-reacting' or being dramatic.

So without another word, Anti left. He just walked away and went up to his room to gather his thoughts.

'No way was it just one week . . . . that's impossible' Anti thought to himself.

'It was so coincidental, too . . . . I think I was just about to lose it all up in the attic when they arrived. Was it all a big prank to them? To punish me to the max before returning and playing it all off like none of it even happened?!'

Anti started to hyperventilate a little but he caught himself and tried to take deep breathes.

'Doesn't matter anymore . . . does it? They're back! They came back finally. I'm no longer-'

But suddenly Anti realized something as he was just up in his room.

It was so quiet again.

Usually they'd be bustling around going back to their rooms. Maybe making sure that he hadn't broken in and messed with anyone's stuff.

Or the TV would be on, they'd be talking to each other and arguing about what to have for dinner or what to play on the TV.

WHY WAS IT SO FUCKING QUIET!?

Anti raced downstairs again and at first his heart was going into overdrive when he couldn't find them again at first.

And then there they all were on the couch in the living room. Quiet. Just sitting and watching TV together like nothing ever happened.

Chase noticed him and nodded towards him, "Wanna come join us, dude?"

"Wh-what are you watching?"

'It's a silent film! Wanna watch with us?' Jameson was excited to sign.

'Is that why . . .'

Anti swallowed and ran in front of the TV to see if they were telling the truth.

They were. On the screen was a black and white movie. It was one of Jameson's old sitcoms.

His breathing went back to normal.

"C-can I sit with you?"

Usually he wouldn't dare ask such a thing. And usually they'd never offer but seeing him like this. Perhaps they actually felt bad?

Jackie, the last person to do so, beckoned for him, "Come here, brat" he made some room between him and Chase and slowly, Anti stepped forward.

It was awkward feeling, cozying up between Jackie and Chase and around the others but also . . comforting.

After so long without being around anyone, Anti leaned into their touch like an abandoned puppy.

He never wanted to let them go. He'd do his best to never make them leave him alone like that again!

Chase felt him lean in closer to him and he pet his hair fatherly, bringing him to lay more comfortable on his chest.

Anti still wanted to cry but kept it in, wrapping his arms around him at the invitation.

Jackie, meanwhile on the other side of him, offered him a small handful of treats he had on him. Anti took the small chocolates and crunched on them, laying his head back down on Chase. Marvin, Jameson and Henrik's eyes were all fixated on the TV screen and soon, so were Anti's.

He must have fallen asleep at one point because when he opened his eyes, they were tired and he felt groggy. He could still feel he was laying on Chase but something was different.

Something felt wrong.

He felt . . . . something cold and wet. Opening his eyes, the TV screen was buzzing on white noise and it was still just as quiet as before.

Anti raised his head up just a enough to see blood all over Chase's midsection! But it wasn't Anti's blood that had seeped out of his throat. . .

It was Chase's!

"Ch-chase!?" Anti flinched back to see Chase's corpse. Cold and lifeless. Staring at the screen with eyeless, bleeding sockets.

Anti looked on the other side of him to see Jackie but he wanted to puke!

Jackie was burnt to a crisp, black and charred and it was then that he could smell the death creeping off of them. Anti was terrified. What happened to them!?

And the more he looked around, he could see Marvin and Henrik laying on top of one another but they didn't even look REAL. Jameson was on the floor in front of the TV but Anti could see joints and bones as if . . .. he were a puppet? His jaw was torn out and there was blood everywhere. Marvin and Henrik looked just like Jameson almost as if they were made of wood.

'Wh-what happened?'

And yet, there was still a small twinge of sick satisfaction in the back of his mind. Like he wanted to play with them like children's toys. It was what they deserved, wasn't it?!

But the fear overwhelmed that other feeling and he couldn't hold it in any longer.

He screamed. He screamed so loud and full of pain.

"Auuuahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhh!!!!!"

And suddenly he was being shaken like there was an earthquake and Anti blinked open his eyes!

"GuH!" he flinched off of Chase's body but Jackie held him from behind.

"Easy there!" Jackie tried to calm him.

They were all staring at him and Chase seemed very worried for him, "Dude, what's wrong? That must have been one hell of a nightmares, bro!"

"N-nightmare?"

But the more Anti analyzed the area, the more he saw they were right. There was no blood. No puppets. No dead bodies.

Everyone was okay.

Marvin hummed, "Must have been a bad three months for you. Then again, you had nightmares before then, right?"

Jackie still held him, making sure he wasn't going to be a danger to them or himself, "Everything's okay now. We're here now, brat"

That's when Anti realized something direly important, "You guys never told me WHY you left . . . . ."

They all turned quiet as if they weren't sure about what to say.

What were they supposed to say?

Jackie let him go but something still seemed . . . off.

"It was just a video, Anti" Henrik provided, "Nothing more"

Was that all he needed? Was that enough?

.

.

.

.

For now it would be.

He didn't want to drive them away again.

"Let's watch another movie" Jackie suggested, "You pick"

Since when was Jackie so nice to him?

Did Anti even care anymore?

They were back and that was all that mattered, right?

Nothing else mattered.

He had to come to terms that his nightmares meant nothing. They were nothing. It was all just a nightmare.

All just a nightmare.

Just a nightmare . . . . .